Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Lenovo's Olympics infatuation continues with themed Ideapad U8 MID

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/323423106/

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Alright Lenovo, we get that you have a ridiculous obsession with Beijing and / or the 2008 Olympics, but seriously, enough is enough. We've got desktops, laptops, USB drives and even torches to show your unending love for the Games; the last thing we need is a questionably useful MID all dressed up in game day attire. Nevertheless, the company's Ideapad U8 MID has been spotted recently with a colorful motif to commemorate the upcoming spectacle, but aside from the new design, we're assuming everything else is just bronze-medal worthy (read: the same as the non-decorated version).

[Thanks, Ricardo]
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Posted by Augustine at 6:26 AM

TVonics rolls out tiny MFR-300 Freeview tuner

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/323542197/

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Good luck convincing Grandma to pack a DVR-250 next to the same telly that's been avoiding TV detectors for years, but how about a "match box-sized" addition that gives all the benefits of the digital switchover and without taking up a lot of space? TVonics MFR-300 improves on previous versions with support for Audio Description allowing people with sight problems to hear subtle on screen changes described, plus interactive TV features, EPG and parental controls. The 70mm x 27mm x 54mm box is available for £59.99 and can actually mount behind the TV, so all that's left is teaching your family how to use it -- good luck with that.
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Posted by Augustine at 6:25 AM

AMD's flagship Phenom X4 9950 BE announced: Intel laughs, points

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/323811069/

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AMD just pranced out its latest trio of desktop processors including its new 2.6GHz quad-core Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition ($235) -- AMD's top o' the line desktop proc. The Black Edition branding makes this processor ideal for tweakers and overclockers. HotHardware's already done the job of putting the procs through their respective paces. As you'd hope from AMD's flagship desktop CPU, the X4 9950 is faster across the board than the previous AMD title holder, the X4 9850, albeit, just 5%. That puts it about level with Intel's Quad Q6600 processor but no match for Intel's Core 2 Extreme QX9650. AMD continues to lag Intel in terms of performance per watt as well. Hit up the read link when you're ready to sprinkle a little silicon speak onto your morning ritual.
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Posted by Augustine at 6:24 AM

Major tech companies joining forces to create massive patent shell company

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/323935523/

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Yeah, we hate patent trolls as much as anyone, but the Wall Street Journal says that a group of major tech companies have created a patent shield organization to fend off trolls that sounds to us like it'll eventually just be an even worse troll. The foundation, called the Allied Security Trust, will take $250,000 in buy-in money and $5M in escrow from member companies -- Verizon, Google, Ericsson, HP, and Cisco are apparently the founding corporations -- and use it to buy up patents to prevent future litigation. After a member company buys a patent, it will grant itself a non-exclusive license and sell it to AST, which will then license it to the other members. Of course, that means that AST will eventually own a large number of patents on common technology, which means it could very well become a aggressive patent litigant itself. Not to worry, says AST CEO Brian Hinman: the group will "never be an enforcement vehicle," and it isn't anyone's intention to "make money on the transactions." Sure, sure -- but any time players this big start putting this much potential cash on the line, we're not going to take random promises at face value. See you in Marshall, boys.
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Posted by Augustine at 6:23 AM

Monday, June 30, 2008

Home Floating Over the Pacific Brings Peace, Insane Envy [Architecture]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/323160049/home-floating-over-the-pacific-brings-peace-insane-envy

It may not be crazy high-tech architecture, but there's something about this Chilean home hanging over the Pacific—the breathtaking views, the clean design—that has me glued to the screen with a mixed feeling of complete awe, peace, and envy.

Divided in three floors, Casa 11 Mujeres (House 11 Women, named like that because it was designed for a family with 11 daughters, ages four to twenty) was built with bare concrete with wood floors, glass, and steel on a 45 degree slope looking down Cachagua beach, 87 miles north of Santiago de Chile. The bottom floor contains shared spaces, while the second level has the daughters bedrooms—all overlooking the sea—, and the top floor has the master bedroom, kitchen, living room, and dining room.

I don't know about the 11 daughters part, but sign me up for the rest. [Dezeen]


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Posted by Augustine at 7:08 AM

Mitsubishi's new iSP 149 series LCDs have it all in one place

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/322964353/

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If you're a lazy ass consumer (the very best kind), bent on pulling a device out of the box, plugging it into a wall, and never messing with another bit of "setup" again, you're certainly not alone. In fact, most folks never lift a finger to calibrate their displays, plug better speakers in, or place those speakers in actually advantageous spots. To that end, Mitsubishi is debuting its new LT-46149 and LT-52149 LCDs with integrated 16-speaker sound projectors. Similar to the sound bars offered up by many home audio manufacturers, the "Integrated Sound Projector" (iSP) is designed to bounce sound off walls and around the room to give the illusion of surround sound. The perk of TV integration is an easy to use room configuration on-screen tool to specify your room's dimensions, couch placement and preferred sweet spot size. At the end of the day, your sound is all coming from one spot, so directionality isn't going to quite match a for-realsie surround sound setup, and the system we listened to was a little sharp in the high end, but it's certainly a unique and appealing offering from Mitsu to the everyman TV watcher. The TV itself is CableCard ready, can support sound over HDMI and PCM inputs, and offers Mitsu's 120Hz film dejuddering -- that rather awkwardly makes your favorite films look like they were shot by a TV news crew. The 46-inch and 52-inch LCDs will sell for $3,299 and $3,699, respectively.
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Posted by Augustine at 7:03 AM

ASUS' bigger, badder Eee PC 904 and 905 in the chute?

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/323080869/

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The price isn't the only thing swelling on ASUS' Eee PC. According to DigiTimes' proven ASUS sources, bigger Eee PC 904 and 905 models are cueing up for release. In a return to the Eee PC salad days of the big bezel, the new models will slot the same 8.9-inch display found in the 901 into a larger, Eee PC 1000-esque chassis with proportionally larger keyboard. Decisions about battery and storage have not yet been finalized although the new models would be priced similar to the 900 and 901 which they would ultimately replace.
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Posted by Augustine at 7:03 AM

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Matrox Reappears With Multi-Display Graphics Card Line For Professional Apps [Graphics Cards]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/322825462/matrox-reappears-with-multi+display-graphics-card-line-for-professional-apps

In the battle for video card domination, dark horse Matrox never seemed to even come close to keeping up with Nvidia and ATI's crazy GPU arms race. But after fading almost completely from the gadgetsphere, the company has suddenly returned with the launch of five new graphics cards under its "M-Series" line. The M-Series targets the multi-display market and consists of two low-profile PCIe cards and three standard formate ATX PCIe cards.

The cards range from $259 for the M9120 PCIe x16, which has a single DVI-I output that uses a breakout cable to run two independent displays, to the $599 M9140 LP PCIe x16, which can power up to four 1920 x 1200 screens.

Judging from the pricing and features no regular person would need, it seems that Matrox has bypassed the home consumer market in favor of "professional" applications. That's probably a smart move, considering how even Intel is having trouble wrestling control of the market away from our two graphics chip overlords now. [The Inquirer via Crunch Gear]


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Posted by Augustine at 8:56 PM

Chocolove

Source: http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2008/06/chocolove.html

Chocolove1


Who doesn't love chocolate? Chocolove creates premium, organic chocolate. From their website:

"The idea was simple - a selection of distinctly flavored chocolate bars made with all-natural ingredients and the classic techniques of Europe's finest chocolatiers. The package design would resemble a love letter sent from a distant land, and inside each wrapper - a classic romantic poem. The cocoa content would be clearly indicated on the front of each wrapper, the tasting notes would be simple and approachable, and the price, affordable."

Chocolove now offers limited edition "bars of origin." I love that they've taken the language of the wine-world, and have translated it to chocolate. They produced 45,000 bars for each location. And the packaging is a testament to craftsmanship and history behind each bar.

Even the descriptions sound like they were taken from a wine journal:

Made from Trinitarios, a variety from Trinidad, this chocolate is true to the varietal; complex with hints of fruit. The aroma is like a glass of wine. The flavor starts with hints of tangy tropical fruits and wood, then transitions to dried fruit and on to a light dry finish.

Chocolove2

Sign me up for a tasting!

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Posted by Augustine at 12:05 PM

The Bill Gates Timeline [Bill Gates Retirement Party]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/321515596/the-bill-gates-timeline

Here it is, the definitive Bill Gates timeline. It may contain some bugs and lack some features, but it works: from his parents to the last day of his work at Microsoft, the Bill Gates timeline shows his personal and business adventure—on the top—in relation to the tech industry—on the bottom—as his company takes over it all.

Click on the image above to access the full high-resolution version. [Bill Gates' Retirement Party]

Other Gizmodo timelines

Sony Trinitron Timeline Shows Why It Will Live Forever In Our Hearts
The Analog Cellphone Timeline
LEGO Brick Timeline: 50 Years of Building Frenzy and Curiosities
100 Years of Tech in the Times Square New Year's Ball


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Posted by Augustine at 11:26 AM

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